5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

This session looks at the extent to which religions provide an ideological component of the “new far Right,” and whether and how religion can be used to explain its successes. As such, the session seeks to provide a much-needed space of encounter and debate for international scholars working at the intersection of politics and religion from both a social movements and sociology of religion perspective, tending bridges between two bodies of literature that rarely cross paths.

We look forward to featuring both theoretical and empirical research providing fresh insights on emerging trends and themes within this field of study: key actors, transnational networks, cyberactivism, radicalization, organizational profiles, ‘new racism,’ morality politics (e.g. sexuality, reproduction, family, and end-of-life), countercultures, identity work, influencers, femonationalism, repertoires, and gender roles, among others. The session aims to be broad in geographical scope, looking at both the Global North and South, and also pluralistic in what regards to theoretical and methodological approaches, including both quantitative and qualitative studies.